Tuesday, November 18, 2008

On the left is the photograph of an elderly Muslim offering sherbet to a Sikh devotee who is part of a religious procession.

This is a recent photo. On the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, the Sikhs take out huge processions in most Cities in India and abroad.

This is just one of the photos that tells us stories that don't find any place in the mainstream media. Though one gets to see lot of photographs of Hindus and Muslims celebrating Id and Diwali together, pictures like the one here aren't seen much as Sikhs are comparatively a smaller minority.

Millions of ordinary Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and those belonging to other faiths live in such harmony across the country. They participate in each other's festivals wholeheartedly without a shred of bigotry. But it is not this India which we see more often on television and in the papers.

Any writer or blogger can also get more worked up on listening to politicians of different hues raising battle cries than such aspects of life. Like I was getting tempted to write on BJP president LK Advani's defence of Sadhvi Pragya and the party's disinterest in the case of innocent Muslim youths framed and tortured in Hyderabad by the police.

This is the same party that wanted tough law on terror but when it came to its own people linked to Malegaon blast case, it wants ATS to stop grilling them. Most of us get charged up on these issues depending on our religious, political and social affiliations. No wonder, everywhere we find riots, terrorism, communalism and casteism.

Probably it is because of the concept that what makes a news. It is not news when a dog bites a man, but it definitely make when a man bites a dog. So inter-religious harmony, composite culture and friendship doesn't make a great story.

[Harmony exists all around us but is often ignored. Instead, stories of hate, discord and communalism get spread easily.

There are a million examples in our daily lives across India but they don't get promoted, hence, news of hate and discord gets heard more. Let's change it, now. This is a small attempt to change it through Communal Harmony Project]

For reading similar reports on this blog, Click the link HERE and also find out more about Communal Harmony Project

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